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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero: Lashes double in return
Guerrero went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Friday's win over the Cardinals.
With the Blue Jays down 1-0, Guerrero led off the sixth inning with a line-drive rocket off the wall in left-center field that left his bat at 112.4 mph. The 27-year-old slugger sat out Wednesday's game due to a sore hamstring, but after Thursday's off day he appears to be fully recovered. It's been a tough campaign for Guerrero, who is stuck in a 14-game homer drought and has just six long balls on the year, but Friday's hard contact offers some hope he might be able to close out the season on a high note.
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Pete Alonso 1B | BAL
Orioles' Pete Alonso: Launches 23rd homer
Alonso went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Friday's 6-4 win over the Phillies.
He got Baltimore on the board by taking Andrew Painter deep in the first inning, Alonso's 23rd long ball of the year. The slugging first baseman has been making plenty of contact of late, but it surprisingly hasn't resulted in a lot of production -- over his last 10 games, Alonso has delivered a .302/.362/.535 slash line with a 17.0 percent strikeout rate, but that stretch has featured just two homers and three RBI.
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Willson Contreras 1B | BOS
Red Sox's Willson Contreras: Hit in head, exits game
Contreras was removed from Friday's game against the Dodgers after getting hit on the head by a pitch, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
Contreras ran for himself after getting hit by a 95-mph fastball in the third inning, but he was replaced at first base when the Red Sox went back on defense. He'll presumably be evaluated for a concussion, and the Red Sox should provide more information on his status in the near future. In the meantime, Nick Sogard will act as Boston's first baseman.
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Munetaka Murakami 1B | CHW
White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Belts two-run homer Friday
Murakami went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored during Friday's 6-1 win over Tampa Bay.
Murakami extended the White Sox's lead to 4-1 in the third inning with a two-run homer off Nick Martinez, and the slugger came around to score in the sixth on a deep ball from Colson Montgomery. The long ball was the 24th of the season for Murakami and extended his on-base streak to 17 games, during which he has gone 16-for-62 with four home runs, 10 RBI, five doubles and 16 runs scored.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero: Back in lineup Friday
Guerrero (hamstring) is back in the lineup for Friday's matchup against the Cardinals, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
During Thursday's day off, Guerrero tested his hitting and running to determine his availability for Friday's series opener. The 27-year-old will man first base and bat second for Toronto.
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Ryan Mountcastle 1B | BAL
Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle: Suffers setback in rehab
The Orioles announced this week that Mountcastle (foot) suffered a "significant" oblique strain while warming up for his first rehab game and will now be out a couple more months, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Mountcastle, who has not played since April 11, will miss even more time after straining his oblique prior to his first rehab game. Orioles general manager Mike Elias said they "can't expect him back anytime soon." The 29-year-old is now unlikely to play again this season after registering just eight games played from late March to early April.
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Kyle Manzardo 1B | CLE
Guardians' Kyle Manzardo: Idle Friday
Manzardo is out of the lineup for Friday's matchup against Arizona.
Despite smacking a two-run homer and drawing two walks in the series finale against Cincinnati on Thursday, Manzardo will ride the bench for Friday's series opener against the Diamondbacks. Rhys Hoskins will take over at first base and bat cleanup for Cleveland.
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Willson Contreras 1B | BOS
Red Sox's Willson Contreras: Cranks game-winning homer
Contreras went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Thursday in a 5-4 win over the Athletics.
The Red Sox trailed by a run going into the eighth inning, but they tied the score on a solo homer by Wilyer Abreu. One batter later, Contreras launched another long ball to center field to provide what turned out to be the game-winning run. The homer was Contreras' 23rd of the campaign, one shy of the regular-season career-high mark he established with the Cubs in 2019. With 67 RBI on the campaign, he's also on pace to surpass the career-best 80 runs driven in that he recorded last year.
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Nick Kurtz 1B | ATH
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: In Thursday's lineup
Kurtz (forearm) will start at first base and bat leadoff Thursday against the Red Sox.
Kurtz made an early exit from Wednesday's contest after taking a pitch off his forearm, but he's been cleared to return to the starting nine after MRI results came back clean Thursday. The 23-year-old slugger owns an .890 OPS through 426 plate appearances on the season, but he's gone just 1-for-12 with a three-run homer and seven strikeouts since returning from the injured list Saturday.
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Kody Clemens 2B | MIN
Twins' Kody Clemens: Launches walk-off grand slam
Clemens went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Thursday's 4-3 victory over the Royals.
Down to his final strike, Clemens launched a Matt Strahm slider over the right-field fence for a grand slam, giving the Twins an improbable 4-3 victory. It was Clemens' 19th homer of the season, matching his career high, and his fifth off a left-handed pitcher. The 30-year-old, who got the start in right field Thursday, has gone 10-for-33 (.303) over his last eight games, boosting his slash line to .244/.300/.493 across 382 plate appearances this year with 53 RBI, 51 runs scored and seven stolen bases.